


It Won't Last Always

by batsgalore



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Cuddling, Feels, Flu, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, New 52, One Shot, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 16:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13170441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batsgalore/pseuds/batsgalore
Summary: Damian lay curled on his bed. The large clock that Father had bought him last Christmas was ticking in his ears. It seemed louder than ever now, each tick bringing a new throb in his head. Every second tick bringing a new beat of his heart.





	It Won't Last Always

Damian lay curled on his bed. The large clock that Father had bought him last Christmas was ticking in his ears. It seemed louder than ever now, each tick bringing a new throb in his head. Every second tick bringing a new beat of his heart. 

He was sick. He knew it. He knew he needed get better before anything else got worse. But he couldn't bring himself to tell Father, to tell Grayson or Alfred. What would they say? That he was irresponsible with his self care? That he was idiotic enough to keep this from them for this long? Worse, that he had to quarantine himself from anything and everything...including patrol? 

No. He could let that happen. He wouldn't. Damian Wayne was not known as one of weakness. He didn't have the time to taint his reputation, he didn't have the willpower to convey weakness. 

He wouldn't say anything. He would let this illness pass...whether it was painful or not. He couldn't risk Robin for a stupid obstacle. He was trained to overcome any obstacle. He was trained by the League of Assassins, things like this were required from him on a regular basis. 

It just hurt, so much. It was a new pain, a pain he'd never felt before from an illness. And it hurt everything. His muscles, his head, his chest...practically his everything, hurt. It seemed like even the slightest movement, breath, or even the smallest thought would bring a new wave of pain through his every joint and bone. 

But he could bear through it. It shouldn't last much longer, should it? He'd thrown up enough, coughed enough, sneezed enough. It had to be almost over. Right?

Damian slowly closed his eyes but he wasn't tired. The sting in his eyes told him he was, but the throbs that seemed to get stronger by the minute told him otherwise. There was light filtering through his sheer curtains now. He'd lost track of time and noticed he'd only slept for perhaps a few minutes in the time between last night and now. His body continued to wake him with more and more pain, and more and more throbbing in his ears. And now, apparently, it was morning. He's going to have a lot of explaining to do to Father about his performance in patrol later. 

He used, as it felt, just about every sore muscle in his body to lift his head to glance at his clock. 8 am. Great. He'd been laying here in silence and darkness for over eight hours. Wide awake and in the deepest pain he'd ever felt since he was very young. Father was probably not only going to make him type a seven-paged report on just why he had no rest whatsoever, but also lecture him for a few hours afterward.

He closed his eyes again as he painfully turned his head to rest. Today was going to be a long day. 

Just as his head hit the pillow, a soft knock at his door jolted his eyes open once more. He hadn't known if he was irritated that he couldn't rest now, or grateful that he didn't have to.

He pushed his diaphragm to attempt a somewhat welcoming grunt, yet only a squeaky rush of air came through. The knocking became louder but still hesitant.

Damian opened his mouth now, and tried to speak. Still, only high-pitched rushes of air were all that came. The knocking was even louder now, more towards panicked than hesitant now. Obviously, whoever was knocking knew Damian well enough that he preferred privacy over self invitation and respected that. It wasn't Father, else he would've entered by now. And it wasn't Alfred because he doesn't knock so desperately unless the situation truly called for it. All that was left now was Grayson.

The door cracked open slowly. Damian finally managed to get a sound out. It was short before it fell back to the rushing of air. That seemed to be enough of a confirmation for Grayson to enter. He slid in through the crack of the door and shut it behind him quietly.

"Why didn't you open the door?" Grayson whispered, abandonment on his face. "I was just checking in on you."

Damian swallowed deeply before attempting to speak again. He managed to say, "I'm fine Grayson."

"Yeah, I'm aware. By the way, why's your voice so raspy? You're not...sick are you?" He hesitated.

Damian winced as he slowly sat up in his bed. Everything was sore from his head to his toes. "No, Grayson, I told you I'm fine."

Dick eyed him suspiciously before throwing himself onto his little brother's bed. It wasn't a huge bed, but it was big enough for the two of them. They've lied together on the bed before. They talked about life, patrol, even sometimes just to check in on each other to see how they were doing. And that seemed to be exactly what Grayson had come in for in the first place.

"Whatever. Just don't come to me when you're passing out while swinging from rooftops," Dick shrugged. He glanced up at Damian and gave him a knowing look that said he knew what Damian was hiding.

"I. Am. Not. Sick." Damian pressed. His voice still cracked with just about every syllable and it was very obvious that he was, in full fact, sick. He felt he was good at hiding it but Grayson knew Damian better than anyone and Grayson knew when Damian was sick. 

"When were you planning to tell us, might I ask?" Dick continued, disregarding Damian's insisting.

"I have nothing to tell, Grayson. I will say this for the last time. I am not sick nor was I ever sick nor will I ever be sick. So if you are here to debate this, I suggest you leave now before someone is hurt. And by someone I mean you."

Grayson smiled. A smile Damian knew all too well, a smile that usually appeared in these types of situations. It usually meant no good for Damian and he knew he needed to leave if Grayson wouldn't. What Grayson had in mind in that moment was an action that Damian usually couldn't escape once acted upon.

Then it happened. Grayson wrapped his long arms around Damian, practically tackling him in the process. He pulled Damian as close as he could to his own body while the boy squirmed in any way he could in attempt of escape. 

"Grayson! Release me you fool!" Damian screeched as he clawed at the man's arms.

"Not until you admit that you're sick." Grayson teased. Damian could here the grin in his words and it angered him even further. 

"I will never submit to your threats, Richard," Damian yelled, still squirming and kicking but with less of an effort. 

"Well then, I guess we're gonna be here for a while, aren't we?" 

Damian finally gave up after about a minute of trying. This happened much too often for him to even try to escape. Grayson was a strong man, anyone knew that. Especially when he was desperate did he hold on so tight. These disabling lock holds were something Grayson called 'cuddles' and Damian never understood why Grayson desired the touch so much. Grayson came to him and 'cuddled' him whether he was happy, sad, scared, worried, or just about any emotion. He always came to Damian first and it frustrated him because he felt not only that it was a sign of weakness that Grayson presented, but also an insult to Damian's self presentation. What did he look like? A pitiful weakling? A needy child? A desperate fool? He was none of those things so why did Grayson feel the need to treat him as such?

"I am not a child, Grayson, unhand me at once. If I were sick, would you not be concerned for my contagion? It could affect your own performance in battle." Damian pointed out.

"Ah, so that's what this is about, isn't it?" Grayson realised, loosening his grip now for a more comfortable position. Damian tensed at Grayson's discovery. It could mean many things but Damian knew what his brother had discovered.

"I can't possibly know what that is supposed to mean," Damian said smugly. 

"Oh but you do, kiddo. You're worried about ol' pops benching you, aren't you?" 

"..."

"Oh come on, Dames, we both know you're lying for no reason. You know I know and I know you know I know."

Damian's brain tried to unscramble the words that had just come from Grayson's mouth. He turned now to face his oldest brother, still entangled in the man's arms. Once fully turned he gave Grayson a defeated look. He knew he'd have to admit it sometime, and apparently now was that time.

"Fine. I am sick. Happy?"

Dick tightened his hold on the boy and took a deep breath. He tilted his head up on the pillow so he could rest his chin on Damian's head. He sat for a second, looking out the window that let in much more light now.

"Yeah, I'm happy," Dick breathed. "But I am upset about one thing."

Damian tensed again. "And what might that be?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I tell you?" Damian scoffed and rolled his eyes. "The only thing you would do is coddle and tell Father and that is exactly what I was hoping to avoid."

"And that's what gets me upset, kiddo." Grayson sighed. "That you don't trust me enough to tell me something is wrong. I thought that problem was long gone now, y'know, after we were the Dynamic Duo and stuff. After all we had left was each other. I mean, I know we can't always tell each other everything. But I guess I thought you could at least tell me something small like this."

Damian didn't respond to the suddenly serious comment. He didn't want this to happen at all, he didn't want anyone to find out that he was sick because he knew all it would do was worry them. Yet, here Grayson was, hurt, all because of that choice. Damian felt that anything he tried in protecting his family from pain through him was a failure. And Grayson was the very last person he ever wanted to hurt.

"Grayson, I do trust you. I trust you more than Father and Pennyworth, more than anyone I know. But that doesn't mean I want you worrying about me. I can handle myself and I definitely do not need you hovering over me because I have a common cold."

"Yeah, but," Dick argued, "What if I want to? Maybe it bothers you, and I can understand that, but, I guess I just...I just want to love you, Damian. Because it seems that everything else I try just bothers you. I want you to know that I love you but I don't know how without being pushed or kicked or slapped. The only thing I can do now is worry about you, but I see even that's a bother. I just don't know what to do, Dami, so please tell me." 

That confused Damian. He always thought Grayson was fine with his quick temper. In fact, Grayson seemed to love it. Damian knew that Grayson loved him, sometimes he thought Grayson was the only person who did. 

"Richard," Damian spoke firmly as he pulled himself from Grayson's grip so that they could both sit to face each other, "If you think that I reject your...concern, you are a fool. We have a mutual respect for each other and I thought you would have come to realise that by now."

Dick smiled wearily, the wrinkles between his eyebrows flattening. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made this about me, you're the one who's sick, not me." 

Damian nodded and laid back down on his side. He faced Dick who was still staring at him with a sheepish smile. 

"By the way, I'm pretty sure you don't have a common cold," Grayson remarked as he placed a hand on Damian's forehead. 

"Of course I don't, but you don't need to know that," Damian smirked.

Grayson's worried face returned. "Damian, but what if there is something seriously wrong with you, especially after sitting this long without medical a--"

"Grayson, I have Influenza and I've given myself antihistamines for the time being. I keep them under my bed for coughs after a cold night of patrol. Obviously, it isn't a proper treatment but I'm more than capable to bear this as it passes."

Dick eyed him before sighing and bringing Damian into another hug. Damian didn't try to wiggle his way out this time, he let it be, even though Grayson was an idiot to not consider his own health. But Grayson wanted to love Damian and Damian wanted to show Grayson that he loved him, so this was how it was going to be for a while. And he could accept that.


End file.
